China's Child He Kexin Do rules really matter in the Olympics?
In Olympic gymnastics, the rule is that athletes need to be 16 years old.
But....
Just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week.
The Olympics used to be so simple when all we had to worry about was the doping of the East German female athletes.
Now our athletes have to compete against 13 year olds!
Not to take anything away from the Chinese team. They are the best. But why does every other team need to comply to the age rule when the Chinese don't?
On the topic of Olympic gymnasts, this story about Nadia Comeneci is incredible. Just think about the fact that we live in an almost completely borderless existence where freedom of travel is a given and Nadia Comeneci had to escape from Romania in 1989 where she was basically a prisoner of the State.
Does anyone today even remember what East Germany or Romania were like in the 1980's?
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2 comments:
Even if they followed the rules... they seem to have their own system for scoring. Maybe reverse for their own team... the more out of balance.... the higher the points.
In spite of all the Olympic spin...and the huge population of China, I've read that at many events the stands aren't full and that the Chinese government has to fill the seat with hired fans.
Sad
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